I Can't Decide
by dark-night-sky
Summary: Ginny has always hated Zach, and five years after graduating, she doesn't hate him any less. But there's a fine line between love and hate, that gets especially blurred with alcohol involved. ZachxGinny. Adult themes. Oneshot.


**A/N: **I couldn't resist it any longer. I'm about to write het. This is a monumental occasion. Take a moment to bask in the glory of this pairing, no matter how weird or unlikely it is. I love it. I love it as much as I love GinnyxLuna. Title inspiration goes to the totally appropriate Scissor Sister's song of 'I can't decide whether you should live or die'.

xXx

**I Can't Decide **

Ginny hated him. She hated him with every fibre of her being. Sitting across the bar with her drink in hand, she wanted nothing more than to punch that smug look off the man's face. Though in her mind, he would always be just a boy. A snivelling, pathetic, nasty little boy. With cooties. Lots and lots of cooties. Merlin, why did he insist on favouring her bar? The bar where she spent all of her time? She swore, from the day he realised she was a regular, he had come as often as he could, just to spite her.

The girl that she had come with appeared next to her, her blond hair tied into a loose bun, obviously to fight off the heat. It was rather warm inside, with all the people. Especially after dancing for as long as she had been. Luna picked up her drink, taking a sip and looking across the bar to where Ginny's attention was.

"Are you going to stop staring at Zacharias and come dance with me?"

"I'm not staring at Smith," Ginny muttered, knocking back what was left in her glass and gesturing to the barmaid for another. "He's staring at me."

"If you're so infatuated with each other, why don't you go over and talk to him?"

Ginny was very thankful that she wasn't drinking something as she finally stopped staring at the blond in question and turned to Luna, eyes wide as saucers as her face began to flame. "I am _not _infatuated with _him_!"

"Then you might not want to say it so loudly, in case he hears you and his feelings get hurt."

"He doesn't have feelings," she muttered sourly.

"You should really get past this old grudge you have on him, Ginny. We've been out of school for five years now."

Ginny had another drink in her hands as she reluctantly admitted that it probably was about time she got past old grudges. He hadn't actually spoken a word to her, despite his annoying presence.

"Right," the redhead decided, taking her drink in her hand and raising it to Luna's. "I came here to have fun. Let's dance."

A bright smile lit up Luna's face, taking her friend's hand in hers to drag her to the dance floor, emptying their drinks quickly and disappearing. The advice to dance had been good, as Ginny found herself thinking less and less about the annoying former Hufflepuff and more about simply enjoying her night out with her best friend.

By the time she'd gotten back to the bar, Smith had gone.

Of course, three days later, he was there again, sat in the same place. There was a brief moment where Ginny wondered why he insisted on sitting opposite where she sat, as she would certainly not be moved from her favourite seat. Nothing would move her from her favourite seat. Especially not _Smith_.

This time, she was here with a larger group, it being Hannah's birthday. Yet she still found herself sat at the bar while most of the others danced, stranded at the bar with the men who were joking and laughing next to her.

An arm slung around her shoulder, lips against her ears, the familiar voice of the birthday girl speaking. "He's cute, right? It's such a shame he's kind of a dick."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ginny lied, turning her gaze away from Smith.

"I'm talking about the man you've been staring at for the past hour?" Hannah prompted, pulling back and sitting down next to the girl. "I was in his house at school, you know. I could introduce you to him."

"I don't think I have trouble knowing who he is."

Hannah giggled, clearly having consumed a fair amount of alcohol. "Seriously though, no need to act all innocent. I would quite happy stare at him all night."

"You've had too much to drink."

The man who was sat next to Ginny turned from the conversation he had been having, smiling brightly as he realised Hannah was with them. "Hey, didn't realise you'd come back. What you talking about."

"How sexy-!"

"Nothing!" Ginny interrupted, sending the blonde next to her into another round of giggles. "Really, nothing, just the fact Hannah's had too much to drink."

But Neville didn't miss the fact that Hannah was looking across the bar at the very reason why Ginny had been so talkative for the past half hour. "You're talking about Smith?"

"Bloody bastard that he is."

"I was just trying to tell Ginny here that there's nothing wrong with finding people attractive, even if they're lacking niceness. He's not that bad, you know. Once you get to know him. He can be sweet when he wants to be."

"I don't find him attractive."

Another voice joined the conversation, this one much lighter and dreamier. "Are you talking about Zacharias again?"

Hannah's grin widened. "Again?"

Ginny groaned and buried her face in her hands.

"Well, he always seems to be here, and they always sit in these same two seats and spend half the night staring at each other."

"Glaring, Luna, I'm glaring."

"Whatever you're doing," Hannah began, standing up again. "You can't deny that punching that smug smirk is the only thing you want to do to him."

Neville and Ginny pulled the same disgusted face at the same time.

"Now, are you going to come upstairs and dance?" Hannah questioned, looking at both Ginny and Neville. "And stop being wallflowers at the bar?"

Neville smiled, standing and patting Ginny on the shoulder. "You can stay here and glare at Smith or you can come with us."

The redhead had to force herself to understand that the second one was the better option.

After that, leaving the bar to go dance became easier night after night, until one day she barely glanced at the blond across the bar, having too much fun with Luna and Hannah, who had begun coming out with them more. For some reason, after the conversation at Hannah's birthday party, Ginny had found herself less annoyed with the blond than usual. Hannah said that it was because Ginny was finally admitting that it was okay to think he was sexy. Ginny told Hannah to shove it.

Stumbling towards the bar, Ginny sat herself on her favourite seat, waiting to be served as her friends continued to dance upstairs. She felt good. She was in a happy mood, she was slightly drunk, and she was having a good night. Nothing could ruin it.

Nothing until a drink was placed in front of her without her ordering it.

"From the man across the bar," the barmaid said. "The one you always glare at."

"Thank you for recognising that I'm glaring," Ginny said, on familiar terms with the girl. "Wait, he's given me a drink?"

"He said it's a peace offering," she continued before shrugging. "It's the nice stuff, I wouldn't throw it away. He asked what you liked, and I recommended the expensive wine."

Ginny nodded absentmindedly, too busy staring in bewilderment across the bar at the same smug face she had been for weeks. He was still there with his own drink, smirking at her, before raising his glass in cheers and taking a drink himself. Ginny glanced down at the glass in front of her and back to Smith, utterly confused. He had to have a motive. Why on earth would he buy her a glass of expensive wine?

She picked up her own glass, taking a sip, before her eyes slipped closed in bliss. It really was good.

"Hey," she called to the barmaid timidly, who looked over while she was pouring a drink for someone else. "Tell him thanks, would you?"

Satisfied with the nod she was given, Ginny glanced across the bar again, where Zach was talking to someone sat next to him, before slinking back off upstairs to the dance floor, her heart beating oddly rapidly. Once she got to the dance floor, Hannah insisted that she shared her drink.

Three drinks later feeling reasonably light on her feet, though she was stumbling a fair bit, Ginny was standing at the exit to the bar, waving a goodbye to Hannah and Luna, pulling her coat round her tighter. Common sense had broken through the drunken fog to tell her that she was not allowed to apparate after consuming more than two pints of alcohol, though the temptation really was very, very strong. Instead she decided to walk, not living too far away from the bar. The closeness of her flat probably contributed to her regular visits to the bar.

Thinking about bars was making her want more alcohol.

"Are you walking home alone?"

Turning, Ginny blinked a few times, trying to see the person in the dimly lit street. "Smith?"

"How much did you drink?"

"You should know," she replied smartly, turning and beginning to walk again. "You were watching me order every drink."

Smith was rolling his eyes, she could feel it. But he was walking beside her, at the same place, showing no inkling to leave.

"What are you doing?"

"Walking you home."

"I don't need walking home," Ginny insisted. "I live five minutes away. Ish."

He smirked down at her. "You're about to walk into a pole."

Coming to an abrupt halt, Ginny turned to see that there was in fact a pole in front of her. A streetlamp. "I would've been looking if you hadn't distracted me," she muttered, stepping round it.

"Sure you would've," he drawled. "Is my face just too beautiful for you to look away?"

"Don't make me punch you."

"You're beginning to slur, Weasley."

"Your face is beginning to slur."

They fell into a slightly awkward silence after that, though Ginny honestly wasn't sure if she could tell. Everything was beginning to blur together.

"You bought me a drink."

It was phrased as a statement, but they both knew the question that was behind it. Why. Why had he bought her a drink? An expensive one at that. And her favourite. She felt like she was playing a game of some sorts, he'd made his move, and now it was her turn to make hers. But she didn't even know what the game was, never mind the rules.

"Are you always this astute?"

"Are you always a dick? Oh wait, yes, you are."

"Do you always call people who buy you drinks dicks?"

"When it's true, yes, I do."

"If you were that object to the idea of me buying you a drink, then why did you drink it?"

He had her there. "I didn't. Well, I did, but Hannah helped."

"I'm sure she did."

There was that silence again. And they were getting close to her house. And she was still completely and utterly confused over this whole situation.

"You didn't answer my question."

"You didn't answer mine."

Ginny frowned. "What did you ask?"

There was that stupid, horrible, arrogant, delectable smirk again. Man, she really needed to sober up.

"Really, is your memory that bad?" he teased, leaning forward as he repeated himself. "Is my face just too beautiful for you to look away?"

She put on her best scowl. "Beautiful is not the word I'd use."

"I'm sure Hannah supplied you with enough words to replace it with."

"Whatever," Ginny muttered, turning to walk through the gate that lead to her house. "No coming beyond this point!" she snapped, shutting the gate behind her and pointing a finger at him. "I'm perfectly capable of walking from here."

"Whatever you say, Ginevra."

"Call me that again and I'll kill you."

"Death threats really don't suit you."

Sticking her chin up, Ginny turned on her heel and marched up towards the steps for her flat, letting out a small yelp as she stumbled, though she managed to straighten herself and grasp the handrail to help her. When she got to the top of the steps and turned, Smith was gone.

"Good riddance," she muttered with a scowl. She didn't want him about. Walking her home, who did he think he was?

When she was in the safety of her flat, she realised she never thanked him for getting her home.

xXx

That wasn't the last time he walked her home. The next time she found herself slightly more than tipsy, exiting the bar with Luna's arm in her own, there he stood, his eyes locking with hers, making her laughter slowly die down. The woman who was next to her leant in to whisper in her ear, fleeting words that always carried more meaning than they seemed to.

"He's really trying to make it up to you," Luna observed, squeezing the arm that was in hers. "Have fun walking home."

Ginny nodded absentmindedly, walking over to Smith as Luna drifted off, trying to find words to say. Her brain didn't seem to want to cooperate.

"Hi."

He raised a brow, clearly not expecting that. "Hey."

"I'm not some damsel in distress who needs escorting places, you know."

Shrugging, the Hufflepuff began walking in the direction of Ginny's flat. "Sure you're not. Try to avoid walking into poles."

Huffing, Ginny began to speed up, scowling ahead. "It was a streetlamp."

"Oh, I'm sorry your highness, try to avoid walking into _streetlamps_."

The rest of the walk was in a very similar fashion to the one previously. And the one after that. And the one after that. Before she knew it, every night she was at the bar, Ginny was being walked home by one Zacharias Smith. And his company was gradually becoming less and less frustrating. Apparently in the past five years since they left school, he was becoming more pleasant to spend time with. Though she did still occasionally want to hex him across the bar. Old habits die hard, she guessed. It helped that Luna kept reminding her that he was trying hard. At what, she didn't know, but she trusted the Ravenclaw girl.

"You never bring anyone home."

Ginny gave the man a questioning look. "Excuse me?"

She swore he blushed. "From the bar. You never pull."

"I go to have fun with my friends, not to whore myself out."

There was a pause where Smith looked like he was trying to formulate something to say. "Do you even have a boyfriend? I remember when you weren't without one for more than a week at a time."

"I don't see how this is your business."

He sniffed.

Godric, help her. "I don't, no."

"Losing touch?"

She sneered at him. "I'm too busy. I do have Quidditch Training, you know."

"Those scouts actually asked you to join their team? Or did you snog them too?"

Ginny felt her blood beginning to boil. In these few moments she saw the Smith that she knew far too well. "Is this conversation going somewhere?"

"No."

"Then shut up or piss off."

She was slightly disappointed when he chose the latter. Having someone to walk home with wasn't exactly unpleasant. Shrugging it off, she continued on her way home, deciding she would bring it up with Luna later. It really wasn't worth dwelling on.

Of course, she probably should've brought it up with Luna while she wasn't completely plastered and out with a group of people.

"He has a point," Luna said after hearing the conversation, leaning against the wall of the dance floor with Ginny, who was swigging back a beer. The others were dancing, or downstairs at the bar. "You haven't dated in a while."

"I'm not losing my touch."

"It's not about losing your touch; you haven't even tried to find anyone."

Ginny admitted that was true. "So?"

"It's peculiar," Luna said with a shrug, taking the bottle as it was offered to her, the swig she drank much smaller than Ginny's. "Are you still hung up about Harry?"

Harry. She hadn't really thought about that in a while. Sure, she still saw him, he was still as close as family. But that's all he was; family. He was her big brother's best friend, her surrogate brother. It had surprised everyone when they hadn't gotten together again after the war. Yet it felt natural not to. They had tried, once, but things were different. Things had changed. And after spending half her childhood with a crush on him, she surprised herself by how simple it seemed. Though it had taken a while to stop wishing things had worked out.

"No," she said carefully. "I don't think so."

"Perhaps you should try it."

"It's not like I haven't been with anyone."

"I don't think he was talking about one night stands."

Ginny took the bottle back, taking another swig. "I still don't get why he got all uppity about it."

"Perhaps you should ask him."

Glancing up at Luna, she saw that the blonde was looking to the stairs. Following the gaze, Ginny spotted the object of their conversation hovering, apparently unsure what to do now he'd been spotted.

"I'm going back to dancing," Luna announced, ignoring as the redhead tried to get her to stay. "I'll tell them you've gone to the bar."

Ginny hesitated for a moment, before looking back over to where Smith was standing. He had walked up the rest of the stairs, standing awkwardly, refusing to look her way. Stubborn git.

Wandering over, Ginny wondered exactly how much of her pride would be damaged if she was the one who started the conversation. Though she was doing it for Luna's sake. Because…well, she didn't know how that made sense exactly, but she was kind of drunk, so it didn't matter.

"You."

Smith glanced down at her, raising a brow. "Yes?"

"You forced me to walk home alone."

He looked away, frowning at the dance floor. "You're always saying you don't need walking home."

"It's rude to leave without saying anything."

Giving in, Smith turned his attention to her properly, looking rather tired. "How much have you had to drink? You're more smashed than usual."

"Not enough," Ginny brushed it off. "More than you probably. You're changing the topic."

"I don't know, I'm fairly certain I could hold my alcohol better than you."

Her eyes narrowed. That was fighting talk. "In your dreams, Smith."

Smirking down at her, he took the bottle that was in her hands, holding it out of her reach, before downing what was left. "How about we test that theory?"

"I've already drank more than you. It doesn't count."

"I think you're just scared."

Oh, he was asking for it. "Fine," she grabbed the bottle off him, standing so close that there was barely an inch between them, glaring him down. "Let's see you try to out drink me then."

Zach smirked, letting go of the bottle. "You're on."

xXx

Ginny groaned slightly as she felt herself beginning to wake. Her head was throbbing, and her tongue felt like sandpaper. She could smell the alcohol that she'd consumed the night before. She felt someone shifting in the bed next to her and stilled all her movements; realising she had to remember what had happened the night before and she had to remember now. She dared to open her eyes, hoping that it would be Luna's room that she was waking up in. It wouldn't be the first time she'd woken up naked next to the other girl. It was preferable to a stranger on some occasions. But she most certainly did not recognise her surroundings. There was a Quidditch poster on the wall she was facing, and a photo on the bedside table. She raised her head slightly, hoping to catch a glimpse of the people in it to figure out who she was lying next to.

Her mouth fell open as one blond stood out, feeling sick to her stomach as a hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her against another more masculine naked body that was behind her, though the chest and stomach of the man certainly didn't feel unpleasant. It was more something a little lower than that that had her running scared. Merlin's beard she had to get out of there right now.

As slowly and carefully as she could, Ginny began to try extracting herself from the tight grip of the man, not wanting to turn round and see him. The photo of him as a school boy was more than enough shock for one day. She didn't need to actually see him next to her. Especially not-

Okay, Ginny, focus. Stop thinking about the fact that Zacharias Smith is naked and in bed with you.

Peeling the arm from her waist, the redhead began inching closer towards the edge of the bed, moving the pillow that she had been using to put it where she had been, finally facing the man for the first time since waking up. It was adorable, in the most patronising, unpleasant way, that he accepted the pillow she put in her place, holding it close to him. In fact, the way he was sleeping was just adorable.

What was that about focus?

Shifting her gaze from the sleeping blond, Ginny felt a pang of something strange, something akin to disappointment, as she began looking for her clothing. She tugged each piece on as she found it, ignoring the traitorous desire to just crawl back into bed with Smith. Because she wanted to be in bed. Not because of Smith.

Definitely not because of Smith.

Picking up her shoes in her hand, she carried them as she headed towards the door, checking her jacket pocket for her wand, pleased to feel it there. She grimaced as the door made a small noise as she opened it, though was quiet for the most part. Glancing back at the bed one last time, Ginny hesitated for a moment as Zach rolled onto his back, frozen in place.

Since when did she refer to him as Zach?

Closing the door as quietly as she could, Ginny sped up slightly as she headed towards the front door, trusting that the man lived in a wizarding neighbourhood, opening the door and shutting it, apparating away, no longer caring about noise. She was out. And there was no body about to see her leave. The perfect crime.

Because lowering herself to waking up naked next to an enemy was definitely a crime.

It wasn't until she got home that she realised one very important thing she had forgotten.

xXx

Oh, that smug smile was even worse than usual. She knew exactly why. And he knew that she knew. And she knew that he knew that she knew. And it was so indescribably frustrating. It was taking so much of her willpower not to hex him from across the bar.

"We need to find a new hangout," Ginny decided as Luna began playing with her straw. "A place where no one will know we're at."

"Are you still talking about Zacharias? I thought you seemed to be getting on quite well the other night."

Ginny groaned, allowing her head to hit the bar. "Please don't talk about that."

Sweet as she was, Luna just didn't quite get it. "Perhaps we should invite him over? Try to get past whatever that's bothering you?"

"I'd rather just find somewhere else to go."

"Facing your fears is part of being a Gryffindor."

It was ironic, really. She could stand up against Death Eaters, but not a measly Hufflepuff.

"Though it appears he'll be coming over anyway."

Her head shot up. "What?"

True to Luna's word, there was Zacharias Smith, heading round the bar and towards where the two girls were sat, arrogant smirk still on his face. Like he'd won something. Ugh, Ginny could just…

"Luna, Ginny," he greeted, placing a hand on the back of their chairs. "So nice to see you here."

"It's nice to see you too, Zacharias," Luna greeted back airily. "Will you be having another drink?"

Ginny didn't try to hide the daggers she was glaring at the other woman for suggesting such a thing.

"No, I'm afraid not," he said with a lofty sigh. "I have things to do. Not all of us can hang around in bars drinking all day."

Merlin, she hated him so much.

"I just came to give you something," he continued, reaching into his pocket and withdrawing a piece of clothing, one hand still on the back of Ginny's chair as he leant forward, whispering into her ear as he dropped it in her lap. "I believe you forgot it the other night."

She didn't think her face had ever been redder.

Striding off, Smith said goodbye to them both, Luna returning it with a wave and a smile, Ginny trying to stuff the offending object into her bag, wanting nothing more than to burn it. As soon as possible.

"So," Luna started, turning back to her straw. "Are we going to talk about the fact that Zacharias had your underwear?"

Ginny took a large swig of her drink. "Nope."

"Do you remember what happened the other night?"

She groaned. She'd been trying to avoid remembering. "I'm not sure I want to."

"Okay then."

The two sat in silence for a few more moments before Ginny caved.

"Okay tell me what happened."

"I thought you didn't want to know?"

"I changed my mind."

Another voice entered the conversation, and Ginny could not express how glad she was that the woman who was behind them hadn't been there for Smith handing her underwear over.

"I can tell you what happened," Hannah said, a teasing note in her voice. "You and Smith nearly drank each other under the table."

Ginny bit her lip, casting her memory back. "Yeah, I think I remember that bit. I was already kind of drunk when we agreed to that."

"So was he, from what I've heard. He was sat over there, where he usually sits, with a couple of his friends. Ernie and Neville were here, they said that he was stumbling a bit when you came down with him to start your little drinking contest."

Luna patted Ginny's arm. "You look upset."

"I won, right?"

The women exchanged a look, Hannah speaking. "You kind of dried the bar out. After they ran out of your favourite brand of beer, you refused to drink. And then Smith called you high maintenance. And then you started fighting. And so you got thrown out."

Ginny couldn't say she was surprised. She still wasn't seeing how they went from fighting to waking up next to each other naked.

"I think he was less drunk than you," Luna decided. "You'd had a lot more than him, but he seemed to think he was able to apparate you home."

Hannah grimaced. "I was so scared he'd splinched you. I tried to get Ernie to go check on you, but he didn't know where you'd gone to."

The redhead's face began to flame, momentarily forgetting that she should be violently angry with him for endangering her like that. "Well, he didn't."

"Where _did _you go?"

Ginny looked from Hannah's puzzled, slightly concerned face, to Luna's knowing smile. She couldn't lie to them, not after Hannah seemed to have genuinely been worried about her. Looking back to her drink, Ginny spoke, unable to look at them while she said it.

"His place."

Luna's smile widened slightly, and Hannah's mouth dropped open. "_What_?"

"We went to his place," Ginny expanded, glancing at her friends. Really, Hannah looked so stunned it was kind of funny. "I-ah-I crashed at his place."

"You crashed at his place?"

Ginny nodded.

"And by crashing at his place, you mean…?"

Why did her genetics insist that she blushed so violently when she was embarrassed?

"Holy Helga," Hannah breathed, placing a hand on her heart. "You had sex with Zach."

"Well, I don't actually remember, so-!"

"Was it good?" Hannah persisted. "I can't believe this, you actually slept with-!"

"Please don't say it again."

Luna turned to Hannah with an innocent smile on her face. "He actually just stopped by to return something of Ginny's to her."

"This is like a love story. Enemies turned lovers."

"Whoa," Ginny held up her hands to stop the train of thought. "Slow down there, sweetheart. We are not lovers."

But it was too late; you could practically see hearts in Hannah's eyes. "It's so romantic."

"Romantic is not the word I would use," Ginny muttered. "More like…vomit-inducingly disgusting."

"Are you going to see him again?"

"Not if I can help it."

Hannah shook her head, still amazed. "Zacharias Smith. You should, for research purposes. So that we know if his bedroom skills make up for his personality."

"I am not sleeping with him again."

Luna took that moment to speak. Ginny wished she hadn't. "Do you think he'll keep walking you home?"

Hannah practically squealed.

"If he values his life, he won't."

"You have to go home now!"

Ginny gave Hannah a disbelieving look. "You are joking."

"Of course not! He might be waiting for you as we speak!"

"I seriously hope he's not."

Hannah was practically forcing her off her chair. "And next time we're out, you should wear that pretty dress you bought, to catch his eye. Make him fall head over heels."

Ginny groaned. "I hate that dress."

"But it makes your legs look so sexy!"

"I like trousers. More practical."

Hannah gave Ginny a scolding look. "Trousers are not practical when you're trying to seduce someone."

The Weasley girl felt like barfing at the very notion of 'seducing' Smith. "No."

"Go!" Hannah demanded, pushing the redhead out the door, gasping with joy as she caught someone leaning against a street lamp. "He's there! Go, go, go!"

"Okay! Okay," Ginny grumbled. "No need to shove, really, I'd think you didn't want my company."

Hannah grinned innocently, shooing her away. The redhead wandered out the doors, heading to the blond figure who didn't look like he'd noticed her yet, wrapping her arms around herself. She really should've wrapped up warmer. Though at that moment, all she could think of was how awkward it was to be wandering over to where he was standing after what he'd just given her inside.

"Smith," she greeted, firmly sticking with the fact that she was using his surname.

He looked down at her, and a flicker of something went through his eyes. "Do you stay on second name basis with all the people you-!"

"Finish that sentence and I will hex you. And you know I'm not lying."

Zach paled slightly. "Right."

With a heavy sigh, Ginny gestured for them to start off, not questioning how normal it had come to feel. She tried to pretend it wasn't.

"So," Zach drawled. "Hannah seemed quick to get rid of you."

"Hannah's a bitch."

"Temper, temper."

Ginny glared up at him. "You annoy me so much."

A lewd smirk crossed his face. "You didn't seem annoyed last night."

"You're disgusting."

"And you're ginger."

Rolling her eyes, Ginny unconsciously ran a hand over her hair. "Whatever."

They fell into their usual silence, long enough for Ginny to have no idea what her companion was talking about when he finally broke it.

"You say that a lot."

"What?"

"'Whatever'," he said in a mocking tone. "Whenever you don't have something to say back to me, or you're brushing something off."

"I never noticed."

Zach shrugged. "You do."

They continued in silence for a little bit longer, before something clicked in Ginny's brain. "You notice that?"

"It's kind of hard, you rarely have things to say back to me," Zach covered quickly. "Too mesmerised by my good looks, no doubt."

"In your dreams."

"No," he came to a halt outside of her gate. "In your dreams."

Rolling her eyes, Ginny opened the gate, shutting it quickly before he could get any ideas. "Goodnight, asshole."

"Am I still not allowed past the gate?"

"I said, _goodnight_, asshole," she repeated with a smirk, heading up the path to her flat.

"You might want to check your underwear, by the way," Zach called, loud enough for Ginny to turn round and glare at him. He disappeared before she had a chance to question him.

Rushing into her flat, Ginny pulled out her bag, opening it and finding the item of clothing, entirely baffled as to what he meant. 'Check her Underwear'? Really?

She felt the colour rush out of her face as she saw what he was talking about, before nearly ripping the fabric apart in fury. "_I'm going to fucking KILL you_!" she screamed, despite the fact he couldn't hear her. Maybe if she shouted hard enough, he would.

Because there, written along the backside of her underwear, was his name in big, bold letters, along with his address.

Kill wasn't a good enough word to describe what she was going to do to him.

xXx

Ginny didn't get the chance to kill him however. With all the fuss that had gone on the past couple of days, she nearly forgot that she had a family reunion to attend. Which could often be painful, what with there being wives and tiny baby children about now, making their already large number even larger. She could never complain about playing with her little niece Victoire though. She grinned as the blond girl danced around in the garden, playing with her knew dolls, dressed up like a proper princess. She really was such a girl.

"Hey there, Ginny!"

The woman turned to see her fourth oldest brother heading towards her, grin on his face. "Hey George," she greeted, turning back to her niece as he moved to stand by her side.

But she still felt that grin on her. She looked up with a slightly worried look. There was something wrong.

"How's your week been?" he asked, voice laced with double meaning.

She had to tread carefully. "It's been pretty good, yeah. Went out with the girls."

"With the girls, huh?" George rocked back on his heels, turning to look at the toddler running round the garden. "Did you have a nice night?"

"Yeah, it was good," this was never going to turn out well. She might as well bite the bullet. "What are you planning?"

"I'm not planning anything!" he defended with mock offense. "I'm merely asking my little sister how she's been."

"No, you came over here with something in mind," Ginny persisted. The grin widened. "Spill."

"I believe you're the one who should be doing the spilling," George retorted. "Smith? Really?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

He scoffed. "Oh really? Because I heard from a little bird that at approximately eight o'clock on Friday morning, a redheaded woman who looked startlingly similar to you was seen exiting Zacharias Smith's flat, walking the walk of shame."

"Must've been someone else, redheads all look similar."

"Angelina lives in his block, you know."

Shit. "Oh."

"Yeah, 'oh'," George teased. "So, how was he? I hope he was worth it. And I hope you're feeling sufficiently dirty for sleeping with the enemy."

"I don't remember."

He gasped as if he was in pain, though there was still a grin on his face. "Ginny, Ginny, Ginny, I'm ashamed."

"Please, like you've never woke up next to someone you couldn't remember."

"Yeah, but you're the good child."

"No, Percy's the good child."

He accepted this as reasonable. "So, Smith."

"Please don't. Hannah's gone on about it enough."

"I have to say, I disapprove of him. From Harry to Smith? Talk about lowering your standards."

"He's not _that _bad," she defended, though she even sounded like she didn't believe it. "I mean, he walks me home to make sure I get there safely."

Double shit. Learn to control your mouth, Ginny.

George's brows rose. "He walks you home?"

"Yes?"

"What, regularly?"

"We go to the same bar," she muttered, turning her attention back to Victoire.

"Wow," George had a look of awe on his face. "You and Smith. That's…wow. I thought Angelina was joking."

Ginny grimaced. That meant she could've gotten away with it. Damn.

"We're not an item," Ginny started, trying to get that out his mind. "Nor will we ever be. Whatever it was that happened between us doesn't exist, because I can't remember it, therefore it never happened. He just…walks me home."

"Really?" her brother didn't look convinced. "Are you listening to yourself? You let him walk you home? And you make feeble attempts to stand up for him?" he scoffed. "And this is Smith we're talking about. How many times do you think he's offered to walk someone home to make sure they're safe?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but found she didn't have one.

"Exactly," the grin was back. "Whether you're an item or not, he totally fancies you."

"He does _not _fancy me."

"Ginny and Smith, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-Merlin, Gin, careful where you point that thing!"

She glared down her wand. "Don't make me hex you."

"Do you threaten your boyfriend like this? It's a wonder he's willing to put up with you."

"I'm warning you!"

The door opened, Bill standing in the doorway, looking between the two. "Ginny, put your wand away. George, stop bothering Ginny."

She let out a noise of frustration. This was totally not her week.

"I'm not bothering her! We're having a delightful conversation, aren't we, Ginny?"

"Go to hell."

"Delightful or not, I'd rather you didn't point wands at each other in front of my daughter."

George held his hands up in defence. "Hey, she was doing the wand pointing."

"Don't care," Bill stated. "Dinner's ready, time to go inside. Vic! Dinner time!"

The little girl grinned, calling for her daddy and running towards him, arms stretched out wide, giggling as her dad lifted her up in the air and took her into the house.

"Seriously though," George started, throwing an arm around his sister. "He tries to hurt you, you tell me. Though I doubt you need the protection."

She smirked. "The thought's appreciated."

xXx

"Where were you yesterday?"

It was not a question she had been expecting. Ginny stood, heading from the bar to the dance floor with her drink, Zach blocking her way. She raised a brow at him as he stared down at her with an expression that was very difficult to read.

"I was with my family?" she said. "Hard as it is to imagine, I do occasionally have other stuff to do than just come to the bar and drink."

He opened his mouth to say something. Then closed it. Then tried again. Then huffed and clamped it shut. "Whatever."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

Zach glared. "What do you care?"

"Right back at you," Ginny shot.

"It was just strange, you not being here," he muttered. "You're always here."

Ginny smirked, putting on a mocking face. "Aw, did wittle Zachy miss me?"

The furious and embarrassed look that crossed his face said it all.

"Oh, ho, ho!" she crowed. "You did!"

"Piss off."

"This is too good," she smirked, placing her free hand on her hip. "You actually missed me."

"I missed beating you at everything maybe."

"You must've been missing that for a while, considering you so rarely do."

"At least I don't have to resort to violence and dirty tactics to win."

Ginny glared up at him, stepping forward. "Bite me, asshole."

"Bite you, huh? Kinky," it was his turn to smirk now. "I'll have to remember that for next time."

"There's not going to be a 'next time'."

"Want a bet?"

"You're so…_ugh_!" she didn't know any other way to describe him. "I hate you so much!"

"Do you sleep with all the men you hate?"

She felt her face heating up. "That doesn't count. I don't remember it."

"Shall I refresh your memory?" he asked, leaning forward, his face coming to hover dangerously close to Ginny's.

"You wish."

His smirk widened, their faces still far too close, his eyes flickering between hers. She stood strong, trying not to let anything show. "I don't need to wish."

Before she knew what was happening, the eyes were much, much closer, and the gap between them was easily described as non-existent. And there were lips against hers, and one hand threading through her hair and dear Merlin she loved it when people played with her hair. Not even thinking about what she was doing, Ginny felt her eyes slip shut, allowing herself a moment to just bask in the bliss of being kissed. Because she did love kissing. She raised her arms wanting to wrap them round the blonde's neck to pull him closer, her mouth beginning to move against his.

And then she dropped her glass.

The two pulled back like they'd been burnt, stepping away from the mess on the floor, people turning to see what was going on. She wished the ground would just swallow her.

Zach was thinking faster though, his wand out, fixing the mess that had been made. Within moments, Hannah was by her side, gripping her by the arms and asking her if she was okay, before dragging her off to the bathroom to check, asking a thousand questions at once. Ginny barely had time to look over her shoulder to see Luna hovering next to Zach, who had a similar unidentifiable expression on his face to what he had earlier.

Thank Merlin for that glass. Who knows what horrible deeds he could've done without it.

"Really, Hannah, I'm fine," she was so not fine. "I didn't get any on me, it broke far enough away."

"You have drink on your trouser leg, let me fix it."

"You don't need to baby me, seriously," she needed to be taken to some kind of mental home. "I'll be fine."

Hannah looked up with big eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Ginny insisted. It was one big fat lie. She was so far from fine she might as well have done a complete circle. "Just got a bit shocked, nothing to worry about."

"What happened?"

"I just dropped my glass."

The blonde's eyes narrowed. "Did this have something to do with Zach?"

"No. Yes. Maybe. Does it matter?"

"What did he do?"

Ginny went to protest. She really did. She wanted nothing more than to lie and forget it all happened. But she couldn't formulate the right words. "He…he kissed me."

Hannah slapped a hand over her mouth. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"What was it like?"

The redhead grimaced. She wanted nothing more than to say absolutely _terrible_. "Okay I guess."

"What are you going to do?"

"What do you mean?"

The look on Hannah's face clearly said Ginny was being slow. "I mean, about Zach. He obviously likes you."

"I don't know. He's still a dick. And I'm not convinced he likes me, what with how much of a bastard he is to me."

"Do you like him?"

"Of course not!" Ginny flustered, answering straight away. Hannah didn't look convinced. "I don't! He's not exactly unattractive, but I don't like him. I hate him."

Did she?

"Well, we'll think about it more later," Hannah decided, relief flooding through the redhead. "And go back to having fun. I imagine you need to loosen up a little."

It didn't help. And Zach hadn't been there to walk her home. And he hadn't been there the next night. Nor the night after that. And Luna and Hannah were becoming a little concerned with how Ginny would sit at the bar and just wait. Even the barmaid had begun to ask her if she was okay. Two nights with him not there, and she was suddenly acting like a mopey teenager. She remembered when she would've celebrated the fact that he finally stopped showing up. She thought she still would've.

But she wasn't.

Pacing her flat on the third day, she tried to decide if she wanted to go to the bar or not. Should she wait for him again? Or should she try to forget about it? She still didn't understand why it was plaguing her like it was. She needed to just get it out. Get it sorted. Whatever it was.

Wandering about her flat doing chores, she came across something that inspired a spark in her brain. A small item of clothing that was in her laundry pile. Her eyes widened in recognition, picking up the item and read what was still written on the back.

His address.

She wasted no time in setting out, dropping what she was doing and marching straight for the fireplace, grabbing the floo powder without a second thought, despite the fact that she probably looked like a mess. She didn't care. She wanted answers. She was a woman on a mission.

Reading the address out, Ginny sucked in a breath in anticipation as she was transported to a different flat, one that barely looked familiar apart from the decoration and the hallway to the front door that she spotted. Stepping out, she felt her blood boil as she saw a familiar face emerge from one of the rooms, confusion on his face replaced with something akin to fear.

"Ginny?" Zach asked, walking towards her quickly and speaking in a hushed voice. "What are you doing here?"

"Don't you fucking 'what are you doing here' me!" she snapped, shaking the underwear that he had vandalised. "This is why I'm here! Where the hell have you been? You haven't even spoken a word to me after that-that-_kiss_!"

He glanced behind him to the door he'd just came from. "Now's really not a good time-!"

"I don't bloody well _care_ if now is not a good time! I want answers and I want them right now!" she demanded, voice a lot louder than his. "I want to know why you're such a downright arse to me and then have the nerve to-to _seduce _me into your bed and then kiss me and then disappear!"

Zach rubbed his temples. "Seriously, I'll answer anything, if you could just wait a couple more days-!"

"Don't fucking patronise me!"

"Zacharias? Is there a problem?"

The fighting couple turned to see a well-dressed man standing in the doorway, a disapproving look on his face.

"No, there's no problem, Ginny was just leaving."

The man raised a brow. "Ginny Weasley?"

"Yes, dad."

Ginny felt her blood run cold. _Dad_? She was such an idiot.

"Well, hurry it up. Your mother and I are waiting to begin dinner."

"Right."

The man gave Ginny a critical look before disappearing, leaving the pair standing by the fireplace, Ginny not quite sure where to look, Zach looking suitably embarrassed.

"I've had family round," he explained. "My mum's not convinced that this flat's good enough, so they occasionally just…drop by to check on me and suggest different places that I can move to. They've been here for the past couple days. They're due to leave in the morning. I can't exactly go out drinking while they're here."

Ginny nodded numbly.

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I just," he shrugged. "I figured you wouldn't care either way."

She nodded again. A very awkward silence descended on them.

"How about I pop round later?" Zach suggested. "You'll be at the bar, right?"

"I-I was having a spring clean," she cursed how high her voice seemed, before clearing her throat. "At the flat. I won't be at the bar."

Amazingly, there was no witty remark. "I'll come there then."

"Will your parents mind?"

He grimaced. "I'll think of something."

"You don't have to, you know, you can stay here, I understand, it's a bit rich of me to disappear because of family and then wail on you for it," she said, stepping back, suddenly realising she was still holding a pair of pants in her hand. She quickly hid them behind her back.

"Stop arguing and go home," he said, though there was a trace of that smirk on his face. "I'll be round later."

"Right," she nodded, stepping back into the fireplace. "Right, see you later."

"You might need floopowder, before you leave," he suggested, picking the pot up off the table next to the fireplace and holding it out to her. She felt her face light up, wondering exactly when she became such a moron. Especially in front of Smith.

"Thanks," she murmured, before announcing her own address, watching the room shift and change before her. Stumbling back into her own flat, she took a few moments to recover before she buried her face in her hands.

Fuck, she had it bad. And she didn't even notice.

It wasn't till ten o'clock that there was the sound of someone ringing her bell. Ginny walked towards the door, opening it to reveal the blond she had been waiting for. She had managed to stay away from the bottle of firewhiskey she had in her draw, busying herself with tidying up instead, figuring she probably needed to be sober. Though she still managed to make herself look like an idiot when she was. Stepping back, she let her guest into the house, shutting the door and sucking in a breath, preparing herself mentally for what was about to come.

"Nice place," Zach complimented, observing her living room.

"Thanks," she patted her trousers awkwardly. "I'm not quite finished tidying. Do you want a drink?"

"Nah, I can't stay too long. I told my parents I'd gone to the shops."

"Cool," really? That was what her brain supplied her with? "Take a seat."

"I almost didn't come past the fence," Zach commented airily. "I'm amazed I've been allowed."

"I figure I can make an exception this once."

He sat on her couch, and she took a seat on the armchair that was next to it, her hands under her legs, trying to think of something to say. She just couldn't.

"Sorry about bursting in on you earlier," Ginny muttered, unable to look up from her socks. "I wasn't really thinking through."

"It's fine, really. Though my parents are pretty convinced we're dating now."

That idea shouldn't have made her feel anything but horrified.

As silence began to fall on them, Zach turned his eyes to Ginny, searching her for something. "What did you want then?"

"What?"

"What did you want, when you burst in and ruined my family dinner?"

She had the decency to look ashamed. "Sorry about that. Again."

"Don't worry about it, really. It made it more interesting."

"I-er-I don't know exactly what I wanted," she explained, biting down on the inside of her lip. "I was just kind of pissed off."

"About me not showing up at the bar?"

She nodded.

"Why Ginny, I never knew you cared."

Her brown eyes looked up to glare. "Don't push it."

The smirk on his face didn't disappear. "So what? Were you hoping for a repeat? Have you forgotten it again already?"

"I don't even know why I wanted to see you," she snapped, standing up and getting ready to leave. "Momentary insanity. I should be glad you finally decided to leave me alone."

"Wait," he leant back in the chair. "Wait, I'm sorry. Don't go."

She stopped moving, but she didn't sit down.

So he stood up. "You wanted to know why I did what I did, right?"

Ginny nodded, giving him a suspicious look.

Running a hand through his hair, Zach looked like he was trying exceptionally hard to figure out how to say what he wanted to say. "I-I like you."

"You have a very funny way of showing it."

"Yes, okay, I get it, I'm a 'downright arse', a complete bastard, always getting on your nerves, you hate my guts," he listed off the insults as he spoke, a hint of bitterness to his voice. "How could I ever match up to be good enough for the beautiful Ginny Weasley? I didn't start off horrible to you, you know. But you never noticed me. And I said something one time that got you slightly irritated, and all of a sudden I wasn't just some Hufflepuff kid. And then…it was kind of difficult to control my mouth around you."

Ginny narrowed her eyes. "You were horrible because you _liked me_?"

"Well eventually I figured there was no way I could compete with Harry Potter, so I just gave up trying and decided any attention was good attention."

"What are you, _twelve_?" she stepped forward, unable to explain why she was getting so irritated. "Pulling pigtails in the school yard?"

"At least I wasn't off whoring myself out for attention!"

"I did not whore myself out!"

"Certainly looked that way."

"You're such a fucking prat!" she snapped, shoving him. "Did you ever even think of just talking to me like a normal person?"

"Back to the insults, are we?"

Ginny didn't think. She'd had enough of thinking. All this thinking only made her more confused. She'd done one thing that made her look like a complete fool because she'd been thinking too hard and then done something stupid, so why not make that two things? Besides, she'd always believed that actions were louder than words. So actions she'd do.

It took a few moments for Zach to actually respond to the kiss, her hands clasped on either side of his head, lips crushed together. But when he did, Ginny decided that it was good to not think. Fuck thinking. And fuck the question of what her feelings were. Feelings were for girls.

Zach's arms snaked round her waist, pulling them together, bodies pressed flush against each other, kiss deepening until it involved tongue, being less like a forceful crushing of lips and more like a proper, rather heated kiss. A thousand things were said. These actions were definitely speaking louder than words.

When they finally pulled apart, much to Ginny's chagrin, their breathing was slightly laboured, their noses bumping together as their breath mingled.

"See?" there was that familiar, hexable smirk on his face again. "I didn't need to be nice to get your attention."

"Shut up before I want to punch you," she muttered, leaning back in for another kiss. To be fair, he did shut up.

About five minutes later he was pulling away again however. "This is turning out to be a long trip to the shops."

"What exactly are you going to say when you go back empty handed?" she asked, her hands trailing down his chest, over his stomach, up his back.

"I was planning on just having you give me things to take back. You were the one who put me in this position, after all."

"I said you could've come back another time," she argued, though it was half hearted as he began nipping at her jaw, lips getting closer to her neck.

"If I'd agreed you would've killed me on the spot."

"This is true."

Zach gave a slightly frustrated groan as he forced himself to pull away, playing the older, responsible one. "No, really, I have to get back."

Ginny pouted, tugging at the buttons on his shirt.

Chuckling slightly, Zach leant forward and placed a much more innocent kiss to her lips; hand slipping forward and reaching into her pocket, pulling out what was inside and smirking as he began towards the door, waving it as he left. "I hope you've remembered my address!"

"What the hell?" she ran after him, but he was already out the door. "Get back here, Smith! Those aren't yours!"

"They have my name on them!"

"And I thought you needed to take something from the shop!"

He looked back, grinning at her. An honest, happy grin, that had Ginny's heart skip a beat. "I'll tell them it was closed! It is ten o'clock."

Smiling slightly as she leant against her doorframe, watching him disapparate, she briefly wondered whether or not she should not go to the bar tomorrow. Just to wind him up a little.

Because really, she did hate him. Or something like that.

xXx

_I can't believe I just wrote this in one day. I can't believe I enjoyed it so much. I can't believe I wrote het. I can't believe I have to get up in six hours. Man, that's going to kill me._

_I hope you enjoyed it as much as I liked writing it! I got to about half way and sort of…ran out of steam. I couldn't think of a good way to end it. I figured having them properly get together would be too weird, but that leaving it on 'this is going somewhere' would be more appropriate. I don't know. I still love it. _

_R+R! _

_Thanks for reading! _

_~ Kivea R. _


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